{"id":817486,"date":"2026-07-22T22:55:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T22:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/817486\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T22:55:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T22:55:40","slug":"samsung-reshapes-the-fold-with-the-passport-sized-z-fold8-launching-at-2699","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/817486\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung reshapes the Fold with the passport sized Z Fold8 launching at $2,699"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gotta say, those rumours and dummy models really hit the spot this year with Samsung<\/a>\u2019s Galaxy Unpacked event here in London revealing pretty much everything we expected \u2013 except the finer details.\u00a0 Key to the launch is the addition of a new form factor to the Z Series, the passport-sized device known only as the Fold.<\/p>\n

While for more than six years we\u2019ve had a Fold and Flip every year, Samsung<\/a> has decided to make the \u201ctraditional Fold\u201d the Fold Ultra, launching this year with the Samsung<\/a> Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Z Flip8 continues the traditional smartphone-sized flip-in-half-shut form factor, but the new \u201cFold\u201d is the Z Fold8.\u00a0 Confused?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry.\u00a0 It\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At $1,949 the \u201centry\u201d foldable for Samsung<\/a> \u2013 Galaxy Z Flip8 is $150 more than last year.\u00a0 That\u2019s down to this global demand for memory and chipsets which we can blame entirely on our love for stupid AI posters and photos which is leading to huge new data centres which are snapping up everything they can get from the electronics supply chain.<\/p>\n

The Fold8 Ultra compares to last year\u2019s Fold7 on price with a $100 premium added for our troubles \u2013 taking it to $2,999.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In between them both this year will sit the Galaxy Z Fold8 \u2013 at $2,699.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing, Samsung<\/a> can afford to be bullish here.\u00a0 Not just because there are some great pre-order launch deals we\u2019ll get to later, but because of the overwhelming success of last year\u2019s Z Fold7.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Samsung<\/a> Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra<\/p>\n

This premium, flagship device is thinner than last year\u2019s Fold7.\u00a0 Can you believe that? Measuring in at 4.1mm at it\u2019s thinnest, this is thanks to the Flex Titanium layer inside the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Basically, Samsung<\/a> engineers shaved 10% off the thickness of the screen, but they didn\u2019t cede that back to other components, they worked then to make other areas more efficient too.\u00a0 The battery for example is now Silicon Carbon, with an increase to 5,000mAh of capacity, up from 4,400mAh.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Charging goes to 45W wired for a solid recharge to 70% in just 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

Critically, the screen itself has not been neglected from tech upgrades.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Beaming in at 3,000 nits it\u2019s legit bright, along with a higher pixel density too at 42ppi.<\/p>\n

Last year I was critical of how hard the Fold7 was to open up.. Samsung<\/a> listened, the Fold8 Ultra is impressive and feels still very strong too.<\/p>\n

Passport sized Galaxy Z Fold8<\/p>\n

This thing is amazing.\u00a0 Targeted at people who are strong on portability (ie; not keen on a big or chunky device) as well as entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I imagine the Fold8 will draw existing flip users up, and attract many new buyers too.<\/p>\n

The dual cameras are both 50 megapixels, wide and ultra-wide, no telephoto zoom on this one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Flipping out and feeling lonely \u2013 Flip8<\/p>\n

I\u2019d suggest Flip sales will take the biggest hit from the presence of the new Fold8.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still a great device, but it\u2019s not getting any of the big name features. It is thinner and lighter, weighing in at 180g and 6.1mm thick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In terms of functionality, the front Flex screen is now vastly more useful out of the box, no longer do you need extra software to make it useful, you can launch apps right there on the front screen \u2013 as unless as that might be.<\/p>\n

Galaxy AI isn\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n

Continuing to work with Google on AI, Samsung<\/a> now aims to have over 800,000,000 moblle devices (globally of course) AI enabled by the end of this year.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s new AI in the Now Notes to give better insights from across your device.<\/p>\n

My Fan Cam?<\/p>\n

I think the only true standout with the software on the new Z 8 series devices would be \u201cmy Fan Cam\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tough one to describe \u2013 let me give an example. You\u2019re filming your child in a school play. You film the whole stage, of course<\/p>\n

But then \u2013 you want to share with the family a more personal video \u2013 use myFanCam to select your child in the video and it will track them and crop the video to their performance<\/p>\n

I\u2019m interested to test this as a way of filming content for YouTube and cropping it for Vertical Social platforms \u2013 interesting!<\/p>\n

Deals for days on pre orders<\/p>\n

Samsung<\/a> loves a pre order deal, as do the telcos<\/p>\n

Right now the deals are solid discounts if committing to a payment plan, or if direct in retail or from Samsung<\/a> vouchers for additional purchases .<\/p>\n

Pre-order offers<\/p>\n

Channel<\/p>\n

Pre-order offers (July 23 \u2013 Aug 13, 2026)
T&Cs apply on all offers<\/p>\n

Channel
\n Offer<\/p>\n

Samsung<\/a><\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and receive $150 bonus trade in credit OR $150 Eco Voucher
\n Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 and receive $150 bonus trade in credit OR $150 Eco Voucher
\n Pre-order Galaxy Z Flip8 and receive $100 bonus trade in credit OR $100 Eco Voucher
\n Pre-order now with code \u2018TIME2SAVE\u2019 and receive $100 off Galaxy Watch9
\n Pre-order now with code \u2018TIME2SAVE\u2019 and receive $250 off the Galaxy Watch Ultra2
\n To give users more value and added peace of mind after upgrading, the New Galaxy Club is offering guaranteed trade-in credit and Samsung<\/a> Care+ for its members. New Galaxy Club members will receive a trade-in credit worth 50% of the RRP of their Galaxy Device when they upgrade to an eligible new Galaxy Device 9 to 13 months after enrolling into the New Galaxy Club Program. Samsung<\/a> Care+ offers comprehensive coverage, including fast repairs for accidental damage, extended warranty coverage and certified expert support at home and abroad. One UI 9 also introduces Warranty and care, a new settings hub that gives users quick access to warranty information, self-diagnostics, repair requests and remote support \u2014 all from their device. Customers who purchase a new Galaxy foldable on Samsung<\/a> and enrol in a monthly Samsung<\/a> Care+ plan will receive the first three months of coverage at no cost. For more information, please visit Samsung<\/a><\/p>\n

Telstra<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and<\/p>\n

Save $800 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade credit in on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 and<\/p>\n

Save $700 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade in credit on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Flip8 and<\/p>\n

Save $500 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade in credit on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and save $500
\n Pre-order Galaxy Watch9 and save $200<\/p>\n

Optus<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and<\/p>\n

Save $750 when you purchase on a payment plan<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 and<\/p>\n

Save $750 when you purchase on a payment plan<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Flip8 and<\/p>\n

Save $750 when you purchase on a payment plan<\/p>\n

TPG (Vodafone)<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and<\/p>\n

Save up $700 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade in credit on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 and<\/p>\n

Save up $700 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade in credit on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Flip8 and<\/p>\n

Save up $500 when you purchase on a payment plan
\n Receive up to $300 bonus trade in credit on an eligible device<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and save $500
\n Pre-order Galaxy Watch9 and save $200<\/p>\n

Open Channel
(participating retailers)<\/p>\n

Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra to receive a bonus $300 gift card
\n Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold8 to receive a bonus $300 gift card
\n Pre-order Galaxy Z Flip8 to receive a bonus $300 gift card
\n Pre-order Galaxy Watch9 to receive a bonus $100 gift card
\n Pre-order Galaxy Watch Ultra2 to receive a bonus $250 gift card<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have some first impressions soon, and a full review to follow.<\/p>\n

Full Samsung<\/a> Galaxy Z series pricing for 2026<\/p>\n

Pricing:<\/p>\n

Model
\n RRP
\n Memory
\n Colour
\n Online Exclusive<\/p>\n

Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
\n $3899
\n 16GB + 1TB
\n Cream
Graphite
Violet Shadow
\n Green Shadow<\/p>\n

$3299
\n 12GB + 512GB<\/p>\n

$2999
\n 12GB + 256GB<\/p>\n

Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
\n $3599
\n 16GB + 1TB
\n Cream
Graphite
Lavender
\n Pistachio<\/p>\n

$2999
\n 12GB + 512GB<\/p>\n

$2699
\n 12GB + 256GB<\/p>\n

Galaxy Z Flip8
\n $2249
\n 12GB + 512GB
\n Cream
Graphite
Pink
\n Mint<\/p>\n

$1949
\n 12GB + 256GB<\/p>\n

Trevor Long travelled to London as a guest of Samsung<\/a> Australia<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.<\/p>\n

He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM,\u00a0 Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You\u2019ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9\u2019s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.<\/p>\n

Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.<\/p>\n

Like this post? Buy Trev a drink!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gotta say, those rumours and dummy models really hit the spot this year with Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Unpacked event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,393075,24661,23149,1047,105,393076],"class_list":["post-817486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fold8","tag-foldable","tag-highlight","tag-samsung","tag-technology","tag-z-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}